Originality?

Kanye may have been right about Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video being awesome (I'm not getting into any debate about whether it's better than Taylor Swift's video or not), but I'll bet he didn't know the concept for the video wasn't Beyonce's idea.

Recently, the pop singer admitted on BET that she was inspired by a performance by Gwen Verdon (Bob Fosse's wife) on The Ed Sullivan Show called "Mexican Breakfast." Beyonce's video also liberally borrows moves from "Sweet Charity", which like the Ed Sullivan performance was choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse.

I'll admit I was a bit miffed when I first heard this news, especially because at that point Beyonce hadn't admitted to the blatant similarities (check out a mash-up of all three routines video here), but then again, she's doing what we ask of all great artists: steal from the best and make it your own. Whether or not she made it totally her own, I'm still not sure of, but I'm willing to let it slide.

On another quasi-related note, in April (how did I miss this?) about 100 London single ladies performed the dance from Beyonce's video in Picadilly Circus to win tix to the pop singer's concert this month. Awesome.